Max Verstappen makes a major revelation on the motivation behind becoming a racing driver

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen revealed that he wasn't inspired to become an F1 driver but was motivated to become a racing driver in general. The Dutch driver has made a significant mark at the pinnacle of motorsport in his decade-long career with the Austrian brand, winning four consecutive drivers' championships from 2021 to 2024.

The 27-year-old had a remarkable junior career. He was victorious in every category except F3, finishing in P3 in his debut season. The Dutchman was a child prodigy who started showing interest in racing at the age of four and urged his father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, to get him a go-kart.

In his Q&A session with his Team Redline uploaded on YouTube, Max Verstappen mentioned that given his racing roots courtesy of his father and mother, he always wanted to race but not necessarily become an F1 driver.

"I honestly I don't think it was actually watching like F1. When I grew up of course also my dad was still in F1 and I joined of course to like test days. Some races I remembered actually were in Malaysia with my mom and my dad and these kinds of memories stick in your mind," he explained (0.40).

"My dad also had like a go- karting team at the time. So it's like you just see a lot of racing and I just wanted to start go- karting I think that's where I was like I want to start driving myself, because it's not like I want to be a Formula One driver at that point it was like I want to be a go-kart driver and have fun there," he added.

Max Verstappen gives his take on the "mental side" of F1

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said that he never thought about the mental side of the sport once he was inside the car as his focus shifted towards extracting the maximum performance out of it.

As per RacingNews365, the four-time F1 world champion said:

"Personally, I don't really ever think about the mental side. For me, when I sit in the car, I just try to go flat out, do everything I can, and when I come home, I want to focus on other stuff."

"But at times, of course, it's quite frustrating when you've had such a run of results [in 2023]. You come into the year and it's, again, going quite well. Of course, I always thought to myself after 2023, don't expect another year like that," he added.

Max Verstappen had arguably his toughest title defense in the 2024 season given that Red Bull lost performance against their rivals in the middle of the season. The Dutch driver failed to win a race from Race 10 to Race 20 before excelling in the rainy conditions in Brazil to turn the tide.

He eventually capped off the title three races before the end at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and had a 63-point margin from Lando Norris at the end of the season.